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C6 Corvette has far superior handling than any Porsche

9K views 33 replies 21 participants last post by  MyNameIdeasWereTaken 
#1 ·
I have driven a lot of cars and there is a reason why I chose a Boxster as my track/autocross/touge car.

But I'm just so grateful that a stranger in the grocery store parking lot came over to inform me that the C6 has far superior handling. My previous experiences must have been misleading!

He did compliment how clean my recently-washed car was, stating that no real driver's car would be so clean.
 
#3 ·
It can be Porsche owners too...
There was a Cars & Coffee 2 mo ago that I had my Wheeler Dealer 09 Boxster S at. A guy strikes up a conversation with me and says he has a 944 that's parked a block away. I said he should bring it over and park it in the coral. He's not sure it's nice enough. This wasn't a PCA event but our club is very inclusive, so I suggested he would feel welcome if he displayed it. Then he says Boxsters sure seem to be female cars. Uhhh, thanks I guess. :( Not sure what possessed him to dog my car, but I guess he felt he needed to display his manhood.
 
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#4 ·
I've heard the 'girl/female' comments myself, from non-P car people at least. A bit odd to hear it from 'the family', but there are insecure people everywhere. I bought the car to have a fun top-down canyon carver, not a status symbol. I rode motorcycles, quickly, for years, and wanted to change it up a bit, and add in a some safety. Too many distracted drivers around here (Denver metro) for me to keep riding.
 
#6 ·
I give people a 'free pass" on dumb car comments. I was in the Porsche dealer a few days ago picking up some parts, and was poking about cars in the showroom. An elderly fellow came up and we started chatting about the 911 Targa on the sales floor in front of us. Out of the blue he asked if I'd seen the new Corvette. Chit-chat ensued, and I expressed my concern that given the C7 Z06 cooling issues, they may have some challenges with the mid-engine cars. "No Corvette has ever had cooling problems; they have been making them for 50 years and they are perfectly reliable. I've had 6 of them," I was told. At which point I suggested they will probably sell very well, bid him a good day, and went and climbed in the passenger seat of a 911 T that my wife was salivating over (she LOVES the LWBSs).
 
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#13 ·
I have heard that vettes never have cooling issues on the way to Cars & Coffee. I do hit the canyons regularly with a group of drivers that consist of vettes, camaroes, brz, etc. I am typically the only Porsche. I was always under the impression that the LS was bullet-proof, but I have seen enough issues come up to make me question my desire to pick up a C6Z06.
 
#7 ·
Gotta love that huh? I was clipping up a nice backroad in my Cayman (of course obeying the speed limit :D ) a few weeks back, just enjoying the awesome weather and empty road when a vette came up climbing in my trunk. On the next straight away he felt the need to go around me with his obnoxious exhaust. I think he was shocked when my car cornered and he had to slow down a little, HP will allow them to pull on the straights but the little Caymans and Boxers hold there own in the twisties. Coming from a high HP domestic background I've enojoyed my switch to the Porsche and all it offers, truthfully I don't miss the HP.
 
#9 ·
@MyName... Yeah, there is a guy here on the forum coming out from a Vette, first asking for advice and then telling everyone how Cayman is not a sports car because of lacking LSD. Dude!

I like to drift my cars and the 997S was twitchy compared to the 987S. I know exactly what happens when I lose grip, and then push it with laughter. If you want a statement you don't buy 987, you buy a 911 (same price with higher mileage, etc.). If you have the money you probably go straight to rarris and lambos, different story.
 
#11 ·
I almost spit out my coffee
 
#12 ·
Hey, not only is it the finest handling automobile ever, but let's not forget its exclusivity when it comes time to trade it in. That guy who accosted you in the parking lot may have one of 19,227 Corvettes ever built on a Thursday with that shade of red and the fancy exhaust tips, and he's got the certificate of authenticity from the Bowling Green factory to prove it. It's undoubtedly worth at least what he paid for it in 2006.
 
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#14 ·
Ugghhhh...where are the eye roll emojis to respond to typical exclusivity postings like the last few....I paid more for mine so it is superior! A lot of car bravado comes from the fact that most people have never had the chance to drive a lightweight mid-engined car with amazing handling. Instead of superior douchebaggin maybe you should just accept that people love their cars as much as you love yours. And believe me, if you think your Cayman s whatever model is superior to a C7, you have never been on a track with one. And you can stick that in your bank account.
 
#15 ·
I'm not sure if your context is stating that the Planet-9ers are claiming our cars to be superior, but I don't think anyone is saying that; just that a Boxster handles better than a C6.

The C6s and the C7s are amazing track cars. The Boxster/Cayman can dominate AutoX and while a fun track car, it's not the best track car.

Talking handling specifically, I make my judgement based on AutoX and mountain roads. While tracks are an obvious consideration for a vehicle's handling when compared to a drag strip, handling is so much more than simply taking corners at 100mph and setting fast lap times.

A Grom handles better than a Ninja, but the Ninja is still the superior track bike between the two.

My point is sharing a respect for all vehicles. If I were trying to set a fast lap time at Road Atlanta, I'd opt for Mr. Stranger's C6 over my 987 as I do not doubt he has the superior track car.
 
#16 ·
My initial response was "who gives a dam"? Where I live and drive, LA and Phoenix areas, Corvetts are associated with old men trying to regain there 2nd youth, usually with their 2nd or 3rd wife, lol. Porsche is associated with people who love sports cars and fine German engineering. I did not buy my CS because it was the fasted car on the track. I bought it because I love the way it looks and handles, period!
 
#21 ·
I previously asked what is twice better than a used 987 and not 3 times more expensive - and ironically it hit me that it is the C8, probably. But my next car will still be the F430, three times more expensive and probably less than twice better. And I see that for many Porsche owners - it is about sophistication just as much as for other things.
 
#23 ·
I have a friend that runs a 2009 C6 (with the Z51 Package) in one of the track clubs I track with. One of the tracks in town (Phoenix AZ) has a long straight followed by a 75 mph sweeper. Every lap he gets around me on the straight then at the end of the straight he will brake at the 500' marker and I will pass him again due to the fact that I don't need to break until the 300' marker and doing 130mph+. the rest of the track is twisty and he always looses ground until we hit the straight again. Very fun, and he alway seem surprised at the handling of my car. My car is a 2009 Cayman S PDK.
 
#24 ·
A coworker of mine recently replaced her 2008-ish Cayman with an Alfa Romeo Giulia. Apparently the Alfa handles 100x better than a Cayman, and she could beat me on every road and every track in her Giulia. I just walk away from every discussion on the subject...
 
#27 ·
Based on reviews, she'll beat you mainly in time spent at the dealer service center.
 
#25 ·
My 914 has far better rust and foam coming out of the seats than your Boxster! (Than my Boxster, too.) EDIT: The picture is *old*.
 
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#28 ·
#30 ·
Giulia Quadrifoglio 7:32
C6 Z51 7:59
981 Cayman S 8:04
987 Cayman S 8:17

No time for a regular Giulia. Also, was her Cayman an S or Base?

Either way, the Giulia is a very well composed car. So is the M5, the RS4, the CTS-V, the Corvette, even the Stinger; all of which can set fast lap times and have great handling, but that doesn't mean they have the nimbleness that equates to superior handling. Lots of cars can set fast lap times thanks to power and the width of the track. I'm also not calling the Boxster/Cayman the superior handling vehicle on the market, just one of the better cars that I've had the opportunity to drive.

I repeat my previous statement, lap times are not the best way to judge a cars handling. Especially on tracks like the Nurburgring where Döttinger-Höhe and Tiergarten total more than 2.5km of straight WOT section. A Cayman would just be sitting at its top speed, allowing many of the other cars to catch up. But that doesn't mean it's not a fun track car.

The FRS/BRZ is another very fun track car in my opinion (when the engine doesn't spin a bearing). It leaves you smiling ear to ear in the turns, but in the straights, you have time to turn on the radio, find a song you like, listen to it, then turn the radio back off before reaching the braking point.
 
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